Another month of rent relief

OTTAWA — Federal and provincial governments have agreed to extend a commercial rent-relief program to help cover July costs for eligible small businesses.

The move comes with a few changes to the subsidy, as the COVID-related aid faces questions about whether it is delivering as expected.

The amended program had doled out $152 million in forgivable loans to landlords that agreed to give rent breaks to more than 20,000 tenants as of June 21.

It carries a budget of over $2.97 billion, based on the latest federal estimates on pandemic-related aid.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the rent help should run through to September at least, and that the program needs other changes to ease access.

The business group continues to hear stories of small-business tenants aren’t being helped because their landlords have not applied.

Landlords have to seek support from the program and agree to cut their tenants’ rents in exchange.

CFIB’s Alberta director Annie Dormuth said an extension to the fall would help companies still recovering from

COVID-19 closures and trying to find their footing as restrictions are slowly rolled back.

Take up of the program was slow at first, prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to publicly press landlords to apply for forgivable loans through the program.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau sounded more upbeat late last month when he said applications were rising thanks to provinces’ banning evictions during the ongoing pandemic.

Still, over the last three weeks, business consultant Jenifer Bartman has seen emails from companies announcing closures, including some deciding to not renew their leases because it no longer makes financial sense to do so.